Simultaneous travel: I am a talented person in all the worlds

Chapter 322 The Fragrance of Rouge Immerses a Delicate Heart

On the third floor, in private room number one.

The woman in purple wore an elegant purple dress that accentuated her graceful figure and exquisite curves.

Upon learning that Qin Shi Moyu was about to visit, she personally directed her trusted maid to rearrange the private room.

Make sure that every detail is perfect.

Slender fingers lightly tap the sandalwood wall.

"Click..."

Beneath a relief sculpture, a barely audible mechanical sound rang out as a hidden door slid open, revealing rows of fine holes.

These tiny holes allow sound to travel into another room.

Few people noticed.

The main seats in Private Rooms No. 1 and No. 2 on the third floor of Zilan Pavilion are actually back-to-back and closely facing each other!

They were separated by only a wall.

Even after the mechanism inside the wall is activated, there is still a gap.

However, the two people in their respective seats were able to converse at a normal volume.

The carefully designed spacing further isolates the sound to just the right degree, so that only the person in the main seat can hear it.

If it were further away...

Unless one has hearing abnormalities.

Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to distinguish that subtle 'noise' amidst the sensual sounds of string and wind instruments and the singing and dancing of birds.

"Sister Zi Nu! Sister Zi Nu! Look...look who's here!"

Hongyu burst through the door in a loud, boisterous manner.

Zi Nu slowly turned her head, her cold gaze passing over her and landing on the tall figure behind her dressed in simple black cloth.

The moment their eyes met, those captivating pale purple eyes sparkled.

Zi Nu felt her heart lake rippling uncontrollably.

But immediately, she suppressed that flutter of excitement, resumed her signature aloof yet warm smile, and spoke in a neutral tone:
"What a rare guest! Your Excellency, who is so busy with affairs of state, has managed to spare a moment to grace our humble abode with your presence. It truly brings honor to our Zilan Pavilion."

Qin Shi Moyu looked away from her pale purple eyes with slight embarrassment.

He knew in his heart that Zi Nu's words were a dig at him.

They were extremely dissatisfied with his "only showing up when there's a reason" approach.

He would never make a special trip to Zilan Pavilion unless there was something else going on.

Each time he came, he had a clear purpose, but there was never a time when he came simply to visit Zi Nu.

Just like this time, he really wouldn't have come if he hadn't been there to meet Bai Yifei.

All I can say is that Qin Shi Mo Yu knows what he should do.

The problem is that he is simply too busy to be in two places at once.

Even though he no longer sleeps.

There are only twelve two-hour periods in a day!
There were just too many things that needed his attention.

He must plan every moment carefully, investing his time in areas that will bring him the greatest benefit.

He deliberately set aside his precious time just to visit Zi Nu, to spend time with her under the moon and flowers, to cultivate their relationship, and to increase their affection...

This is something with an extremely low return.

In his calculations, the priority was indeed relatively low.

After all, besides spending time, one can acquire goodwill through other, more "efficient" methods.

It's simply a matter of putting in more effort and spending more money...

Qin Shimoyu subtly reached behind him, and the armored man behind him immediately understood and handed him two exquisite wooden boxes.

Zi Nu's gaze fell on the wooden box. Although she was somewhat curious, she remained expressionless.

"open to take a look?"

Qin Shi Moyu smiled gently.

Zi Nu glanced at him sideways, too lazy to reply, and casually lifted the lid of one of the slightly longer wooden boxes with her slender hand.

Inside the foot-long wooden box, it was divided into six small compartments, each containing a different shade of powder compact, ranging in color from light to dark.

It is as smooth as cream and has a delicate fragrance.

Although it differs from the rouge currently in use, the fragrance of cosmetics emanating from the box when it is opened is enough for Zi Nu to guess that this thing is most likely rouge.

What caught her eye the most was a clear glass mirror embedded inside the box lid.

Her slightly surprised and delicate face was clearly reflected in the mirror, with every detail of her long eyelashes trembling.

Although Zi Nu was knowledgeable and wealthy, she was not unfamiliar with glass mirrors of this quality.

However, such items were considered treasures in this era.

Even for a wealthy woman like Zi Nu, who already has a thousand taels of silver in private savings.

The thought of buying such a clear and smooth glass mirror was enough to make her feel the pinch!
Moreover, such rare treasures are extremely difficult to acquire simply by having money; one also needs sufficient status and position.

Zi Nu lightly touched a little rouge powder with her finger. The powder was light and silky, and the delicate touch from her fingertip made her beautiful eyes sparkle.

It is important to know that in ancient times, the production of rouge required the mixing of oils.

Therefore, it feels thick and oily to the touch.

If made into this kind of dry powder, the texture will often be quite coarse.

Moreover, due to limitations in raw materials and technology.

Not only are the colors limited by natural pigments and relatively simple, but the brightness of the colors is also low, mostly dark, making it difficult to create bright and delicate colors.

Not to mention, due to the purely handmade nature of the products, there are issues such as significant color differences within the same batch.

It can be said that the rouge powder in Zi Nu's hand, in terms of its production process and presentation, completely surpasses the finest rouge of this era and even the next thousand years!

A love of beauty is a woman's nature.

Although Zi Nu usually wears only light makeup, and occasionally goes out without makeup, her stunning beauty is enough to showcase her breathtaking elegance, so she doesn't have a high need for rouge and face powder.

But at this moment, with such unprecedented beauty products in hand, she couldn't help but feel an irresistible urge to dress up immediately.

She took a few drops of delicate powder from her fingertips and, looking in the glass mirror, gently applied it to her flawless cheeks.

In the clear mirror, just this unintentional glimpse added a touch of radiance and...charm that was rarely seen on her usual face!
This effect made her eyes sparkle, and she couldn't put down the exquisite dressing box.

Qin Shi Moyu saw her fiddling with the rouge box as if no one else was around, and his cold expression changed from aloof to pleasantly surprised. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, it looks like we've passed this hurdle smoothly.

Not only did he successfully smooth over the slight resentment and dissatisfaction that had accumulated in Zi Nu's heart due to his long-term failure to spend time with her, but he also successfully resolved the issue.

Judging from this, the favorability rating seems to have increased quite a bit as a result.

This made it easier for him to do something reckless later.
Qin Shi Moyu shook another equally exquisite round wooden box and smiled mysteriously:
"Miss Zi Nu, why don't you take a look at this? These two boxes contain different things."

With a hint of reluctance, Zi Nu placed the rouge box beside her, then reached out and took the round wooden box, opening it to examine it.

Inside, there were more than ten small wooden tubes, each about an inch long and as thick as a finger.

She picked up one of them; it felt slightly heavy in her hand and had a warm, smooth texture.

Gently lift the lid, and you will see a section of bright red, blood-red, solid paste inside, emitting a faint fruity and woody fragrance.

Zi Nu took a light sniff and then touched it with her fingertips, feeling its delicate smoothness.

She tilted her head, asking with a hint of uncertainty:

"This...this is...lip balm?"

Ancient lip rouges all contained beeswax, which was hard to the touch and needed to be melted by body heat. They also required repeated rubbing when applied.

The substance before us, however, is in the form of a paste or ointment, if it hadn't been shaped into such a form that it would be easy to apply directly.

It made her realize that this was a makeup product meant for the lips, and she might even have thought it was a new type of cream blush.

Qin Shi Moyu nodded with a smile, confirming her guess:

"There's a little mechanism at the bottom. Miss Zi Nu is so clever, why don't you... try to guess it?" Zi Nu gave him a charming and alluring eye roll.

This guy really is... he can't stop cryptic talk!

However, despite his inner complaints, he still curiously and carefully caressed the bottom with his hands.

She tried pressing it a few times, but found that it wouldn't budge.

But as she pressed, she noticed a slight wobble at the bottom.

A knowing smile appeared on his lips, then he pinched the bottom and gave it a gentle twist.

The paste did indeed extend upwards.

He immediately understood the ingenious use of this small mechanism.

"Hehe, as expected of Miss Zi Nu, you are indeed so intelligent and insightful."

Qin Shi Moyu offered timely praise.

Although she knew he was deliberately saying nice things to please her, Zi Nu still found it very pleasing and even felt a little smug and satisfied.

After all, this was praise personally bestowed by Commander Han Mo, so it naturally carried a different weight.

As the saying goes, flattery will get you everywhere.

The reason why a scumbag is a scumbag is that he provides emotional value, right?

Seeing that Zi Nu was in a good mood, Qin Shi Mo Yu suddenly changed the subject and tentatively asked:

"Miss Zi Nu, in your professional opinion as the owner of 'Zi Lan Xuan', if you were to price these rouge and lipstick, what would their value be?"

At this moment, Zi Nu's mind was still focused on the novel 'toy' and she hadn't thought much about it. When she heard Qin Shi Mo Yu's slightly abrupt question, she thought he was deliberately showing her how valuable the two gifts were.

So, she said in a coquettish tone, "I'm not happy about it."
"I know you put your heart into it. This item is exquisitely crafted and worth a hundred gold pieces! Are you satisfied now?"

Qin Shi Moyu licked his lips and coughed softly, "Then I... I'll sell it to you, Miss Zi Nu, for ten gold coins a set. Any extra profit is yours, how about it?"

"you……?!"

Zi Nu's fingers, which were fiddling with the lipstick, froze, and a hint of confusion flashed in her pale purple eyes.

Immediately, her brain fully realized what he was saying, and her pretty face, which had been carrying a hint of coquettish smile, instantly darkened!

"Mo! Yu!!"

With a furious shout, she grabbed the lipstick box and was about to smash it at Qin Shi Moyu's "solid elm brain" filled with the smell of money and scheming!
Zi Nu trembled with anger, her full breasts heaving with her heavy breathing!
She glared fiercely at Qin Shimoyu, who was guiltily turning his gaze away and avoiding her eyes.

She knew it!

She knew it!
She shouldn't have had even the slightest expectation of this guy!

This is a despicable businessman whose mind is only focused on profit calculations! He's a cold-blooded animal who's good for nothing but building a business!

Whenever her heart stirred with even the slightest, almost imperceptible flutter and ripple because of his gentleness and thoughtfulness...

And then this guy started talking!

She held the heavy wooden box in her hands for a long time, but in the end... she still couldn't bring herself to actually smash it.

It wasn't just that she felt sorry for the fine lipstick inside; it was also because... after all, it was a gift personally given to her by Commander Han Mo, Mo Yu.

"Couldn't you...couldn't you...say these...disgusting things at a less 'irritating' time?!"

Zi Nu helplessly clutched her chest, which ached from anger, her voice filled with weariness and resentment.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Qin Shi Moyu could only scratch his head and chuckle awkwardly.
"Mingzhu will be here soon, and Bai Yifei will be here too. After meeting with these two, I have to rush to take care of other things. There really isn't a better time."

"Then can't you wait until tomorrow or the day after to come see me specifically..."

Zi Nu was even more furious, but she lost her temper halfway through her sentence and let out a long, melancholy sigh: "Alas... never mind, let it be."

She knew the answer herself, without Qin Shi Moyu needing to reply.

Tomorrow, he will also have more urgent and important matters to attend to.

The day after tomorrow, and the day after that, will be the same.

His time was always so rushed, always filled with all sorts of important matters.

There wasn't even a single spare moment that could be 'wasted' on her.

He needs to use every minute to try and gain as much and greater profit as possible.

This trip to Zilan Pavilion cleverly combined several different objectives.

“I will have someone deliver 150 sets of these two cosmetics to Zilanxuan at the beginning of each month.”

Seeing that the frustration in her chest seemed to have dissipated somewhat, Qin Shi Moyu continued:
"Of these, one hundred sets will be allocated each month and sold to the public in limited quantities and at a fixed price."

As for the remaining fifty sets… you should know better than me how to use them.”

"I see."

Zi Nu nodded lightly, her voice cool and aloof.

This was the real gift he gave her.

He sells 150 sets per month, and he only takes 10 gold coins as the "cost price" for each set.

Once these cosmetics enter the market, their quality and efficacy, far ahead of their time, can easily fetch several times or even ten times the price in this era!
This means that Zi Nu can earn a huge profit of thousands of gold coins every month!

This huge sum of money is almost equivalent to all the savings she has accumulated over the past three years of hard work running Zilanxuan!
However, for Qin Shi Moyu, it was definitely not a loss.

One piece of gold weighs approximately fifty grams, but although there are issues with its purity, it is definitely not fifty grams of pure gold.

But at least ten gold pieces can be refined into three hundred grams of gold.

At 500 RMB per gram, ten gold pieces would be a whopping 150,000 RMB!
The cosmetics that Qin Shi Mo Yu was carrying weren't even high-quality items; the two boxes together, including the packaging, cost less than a hundred yuan.

If you make it yourself, a set will cost at most ten yuan.

More importantly, this thing is small in size and not difficult to manufacture.

War freaks can be easily produced in modern society without attracting attention.

However, the technical difficulty involved is extremely high for the current era of the Qin's Time world.

There is virtually no possibility of it being pirated.

In other words, it won't affect the existing technology tree at all, which is perfect.

Of course, Qin Shi Moyu doesn't value money that much anymore.

His real purpose was to use these cosmetics to engage in diplomacy with his wife.

After all, even the famous Lord Xinling, who was able to steal the tally to save Zhao, couldn't have done so without the help of Lady Ruji.

Diplomacy involving wives of foreign dignitaries has always played a significant role in any era.

Someone as shrewd and calculating as Qin Shi Moyu would naturally not let him go easily.

However, at this moment, he could also keenly perceive the undisguised sense of loss and melancholy deep within Zi Nu's lowered, beautiful eyes as she seemed to be playing with the makeup box.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and gently pulled her into his arms, sighing softly:
"In this era of great competition, even in our position, there are actually not many choices."

Zi Nu's body stiffened slightly, seemingly not expecting him to suddenly make such an intimate gesture.

But then, she slowly relaxed, gently resting her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his chest and the beating of his heart, and sighed softly:

"I know."

Qin Shimoyu took the lipstick from her hand, looked at her luscious lips, and smiled gently, saying softly, "We still have some time, so... let me..."

"Squeak-"

The door to the private room was pushed open at this inopportune moment.

A colorful butterfly appeared at the door and hurriedly reported:

"Sister Zi Nu, Commander Mo Yu, Bai Yi Fei has arrived and is waiting in the private room on the second floor."

Qin Shi Moyu's hand, which was about to apply lipstick to Zi Nu's lips, froze. It was only inches away from those alluring red lips.

"Ugh"

Zi Nu let out a third, almost inaudible sigh, tinged with self-mockery, helplessness, and a complex mix of emotions that even she herself couldn't quite articulate.

She reached out and took the lipstick from his hand, silently stood up from his embrace, straightened his slightly wrinkled collar, and her voice returned to its usual cool tone:
"Go do what you need to do. The rest... we'll talk about later."

(End of this chapter)